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A measure that would hobble enforcement of Chesapeake Bay cleanup is set for a House floor vote this week.... The measure was introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, and would forbid using federal funds to take action against bay states that fail to meet their anti-pollution targets.... Such actions, referred to as “backstops,” are triggered when a jurisdiction falls short of its pollution reduction goals or can’t offer “reasonable assurance” that reductions will be met, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.... And Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott’s office said the Newport News Democrat would vote against the amendment and, along with his Maryland colleague Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Towson, encourage others to do so. Scott and Sarbanes co-chair the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus.... At the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, president Will Baker noted that congressional Democrats and Republicans continue to show strong support for bay cleanup despite repeated attempts by the Trump administration to slash federal funds for the effort.

On the holiday when American freedoms are celebrated, spectators at the Annapolis Independence Day parade reserved their biggest cheers for freedom of the press — specifically, as practiced by their hometown newspaper.... Rep. John Sarbanes wore a “Press on” T-shirt as he walked the parade route. His office forwarded a request from Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley to the White House to order the American flag lowered in recognition of the shooting at the newspaper.

Dozens of people gathered Friday in Glen Burnie to protest Anne Arundel County's use of the Ordnance Road Detention Center to house undocumented immigrants.... Rep. John Sarbanes said he and other Democrats are pushing to pass the Keeping the Families Together Act.... "To make sure that there's no discretion when it comes to whether you separate in America, we will not do that and that will be the law of the land," Sarbanes said.

The Senate and House versions of fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act also contain provisions that would bar sales of the jets until certain reporting requirements are met. And Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) has offered an amendment to the fiscal 2019 Defense Appropriations bill, H.R. 6157 that would bar the department from spending funding to transfer F-35’s to Turkey.

Maryland Democrats in Congress asked the Trump administration on Thursday to grant crab shacks temporary relief from a new rule that is preventing many from accepting food stamps for steamed crabs.... Officials warned carryout shops in the Baltimore area last year that they could no longer accept food stamps for crabs unless they sold them live or raw. The shops were also told that they had to provide a variety of food staples, not just the Chesapeake Bay delicacy, to qualify for food stamp transactions.... The letter was signed by Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes and John Delaney. All are Democrats.

House Democrats are working to keep a flame to Facebook’s feet ahead of the company’s anticipated responses to lingering concerns over the handling of user data, as well its ongoing efforts to weed out foreign-bought political ads targeting American voters.... “The midterm elections get closer with each passing day, and Facebook has many important questions to answer—without further delay—about how its platform impacts our democratic process,” said Rep. John Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland. “We need answers in short order.”

Members of Congress in the Baltimore area kicked off an annual competition encouraging students to build their own apps.... The Congressional App Challenge aims to encourage students to learn to code. It’s open to middle and high school students within a given district. In the area, the districts of Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. John Sarbanes and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger are participating.... Students can compete in teams of up to four people. The app that’s created can run on a variety of devices, from phone to robot.... Winners get recognition from members of Congress, and the apps get displayed on Capitol Hill.

Emergent BioSolutions, a Gaithersburg company that develops and produces vaccines and other drugs, plans to expand one of its Baltimore plants, bolstering the state’s status as a biotech hub and adding high paying jobs in the city.... The company plans to announce today it will invest $50 million over the next three years to expand its production capabilities and create up to 60 new jobs.... Rep. John Sarbanes, the Maryland Democrat who represents the district in Baltimore, called Emergent BioSolutions’ expansion “a testament to Maryland’s leadership in biotechnology.” ... “This new facility will not only bring jobs to our community and boost our local economy,” Sarbanes said in a statement, “but also propel new medical advancements that will improve public health across the country.”